In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/810,050, which is incorporated herein by reference, an apparatus is disclosed that is operable in a low-gravity environment (e.g., on board a space vehicle) for enabling liquid to be withdrawn through an outlet of a tank at a controlled rate.
The apparatus disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/810,050 enables liquid to be withdrawn in a regular and substantially unbroken flow at a controlled rate, without entrapment of gas and/or vapor bubbles therein, from a tank on a space vehicle. However, where the liquid in the tank is a cryogenic liquid (e.g., liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen), a modification of the apparatus disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/810,050 would be advantageous in minimizing heat transfer into the liquid that is being withdrawn from the tank.